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The Gnome was inspired by Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. Published in 1954, the book had taken on a second wind during the late '60s as trip literature. "We were all brought up on books like that Ð Tolkien, Lear, the Gormenghast trilogy, Aubrey Beardsley Ð and Syd was no exception," says Miles. "They were cult books in which stoned people felt parallels with mysticism. But we were finding mystical signs in flock wallpaper, for God's sake."